UX in the driver's seat of the truck: Design for logistics
CASE STUDY
During my second stint at TOTVS, at the headquarters in Joinville/SC, I worked in the logistics area as a Product Designer. During this period, I participated in different fronts of the company’s B2B solutions and later took on the design leadership in the creation of a new strategic digital product.
This product was essential for TOTVS's logistics solutions portfolio, as it aimed to manage and monitor pickups and deliveries of goods. It consisted of:
Web platform, for managers to track trips, operations, and incidents.
Mobile app, for drivers to register deliveries, pickups, and maintain direct communication with the base.
The entire project was developed in co-creation with a strategic client, one of the largest logistics companies in the country, ensuring practical relevance and market adherence.
Project Kickoff
I joined the team shortly after the budget definition phase. From there, together with the PO, I participated in meetings to gather use cases, which served as a guide for all development. The challenge was clear: the new product had to integrate with existing systems and close the complete cycle of logistics operations.
In Miro, we organized the first pieces of information:
Project objective and justification.
SMART objectives.
Expectations, motivations, risks, and threats.
Stakeholder map and extreme profiles.
We completed this phase with the CSD Matrix (Certainties, Assumptions, and Doubts), essential for guiding the hypotheses we would validate throughout the process.
User Research
With the initial content structured, we created interview scripts for two main profiles: logistics managers and drivers.
We interviewed users from different partner companies to capture both good practices and critical points from day to day.
We recorded and grouped the insights, validating hypotheses and addressing points raised in the CSD Matrix.
This phase gave us a comprehensive view of the market and clarity on the real pains of the users.
Shadowing
Next, we conducted a field immersion phase at the client:
Day 1: observing managers monitoring trips, solving problems, and supporting drivers at the warehouse.
Day 2: experience with drivers on route, participating in deliveries and pickups.
This experience was crucial for understanding the unmapped occurrences and strengthening empathy with the end user. Direct contact showed us the responsibility of creating a solution for professionals who deal daily with complex and unpredictable challenges.
Co-creation Workshops
Back at the office, we conducted three days of workshops with user groups.
Each workshop was structured around design challenges raised in the research.
Separated by profiles, participants thought of possible solutions, which were later discussed and prioritized.
This dynamic provided us with valuable materials to initiate the ideation and prototyping phase.
Prototypes and Validations
Based on the insights collected:
I developed low-fidelity prototypes to map flows and validate concepts.
We conducted recorded remote tests with users, who provided essential feedback.
From the adjustments, we evolved to high-fidelity prototypes, again validated in a new round of testing.
In the end, we consolidated the design assets and delivered them to the development team, already structured to facilitate implementation.
Conclusion
This project reinforced the importance of a collaborative, iterative, and user-centered design process. At each step—from immersion to validations—we managed to align the business needs with the real pains of the market.
Due to contractual reasons, I cannot share all the details and images of the project, but this case study summarizes the path taken and the lessons learned.
I am open to discussing this and other projects I have been involved in throughout my professional journey.